Detroit Police Chief Fired Amid Ties To Reality TV

Mayor Dave Bing fired the city’s embattled police chief on Wednesday, hours before a local television station was to air a report on a reality show starring the commander.

The move came after it became known that Police Chief Warren Evans appeared in a six-minute trailer for a reality television show called “The Chief.”

Mr. Bing wouldn’t specify why he replaced Mr. Evans after barely a year on the job, but said he made the decision Wednesday after concluding that “some of his decisions, I think, compromised his position as chief.” Ralph Godbee, formerly the assistant police chief, will take over as interim chief.

“There are certain events that happened, certain decisions made, over a period of time that led us to this decision,” Mr. Bing said at a hastily called news conference in Detroit.

The reality-show trailer, which was aired by Detroit TV station WXYZ, shows Mr. Evans confronting criminal suspects and wearing heavy police gear. At one point he says. “It is my job to keep the city safe. I’ll do whatever it takes.”